Eva Playing Cards

Eva Playing Cards

Eva is a new series of playing cards by Thirdway Industries, designed by the italian designer Giovanni Meroni, inspired by the story of the Four First Women.

Features:

Printed by USPCC

Experimental Letterpressed tuck box

Numbered custom seal (1-1999)

Metallic ink on cards

Includes one extra joker

J,Q,K cards are women

It’s suggested for mature audience, includes some nudity

Story explanation

Every suit represents one of the first four women of different cultures – All the court cards are the same first woman, and J,Q and K tell a chronological evolution of the character. The Aces are the last part of the story, the epilogue, and the Jokers are the relation between the first women and their men. There is also tiny graphic on the card edges, different for every suit, that tells a little story.

Pandora, the Curious Betrayer (Spades)

You are my gift to mankind, and this box is my gift to you. Don’t open it for any reason, or you’ll condemn all of humanity.

Pandora was the first human woman, created by Hephaestus and Athena on the instruction of Zeus. She was a punishment to humanity for Prometheus’ theft of the secret of fire.

She’s the young “Gift of Zeus” when she is a Jack and she’ll became the “Traitor of Humanity” in her King form. The queen form is the “Curious Betrayer“: Pandora, seduced by the Zeus’s Forbidden Box, decided to open it condemning all the humanity.

The Ace represent the open Forbodden Box, and the Ace itself is the Evils that Pandora unleashed. There was also “Hope” in the Forbidden Box, but Pandora closed the lid and trapped it inside. No one explains why Pandora decided to keep Hope inside the Box, but there are a lot of theories about this.

If you’re wondering because there is the Snake and the Apple, is because I think that Pandora is a reflection of Eva – open the Forbidden Box is like eat the Apple of Knowledge.

Lilith, the First Rebel (Diamonds)

I was created from the same dirt as the first man. He wanted to dominate me and we fought. I left him and Eden, and I found an Angel.

Lilith was, in some cultures, the real first woman. She was made from the same dirt as Adam. The first man wanted to dominate her, so she grew wings and flew away from Eden. Then she coupled with a fallen angel.

The diamonds court cards represent the evolution of Lilith from the first woman to the First Rebel. In the jack card, Lilith is just created, the “True First Woman”. She’s completely unaware about everything, and she’s only purpose is to be Adam’s wife.

Adam tried to enslave Lilith – I represented this in the “The Prisoner Queen“, the QoD. In this card, Lilith is chains, angry, and she’s ready to fight back Adam.

Lilith became the “First Rebel” on the King Card. She was full of anger towards Adam and men. She decided to leave him and Eden forever, with her love, Samael – an angel.

Pyrrha, the Mother of the World (Clubs)

The deluge destroyed everything. I’ve been told to throw the bones of Gaia behind me to re-populate the Earth.

Pyrrha was the daughter of Pandora. She’s not a first woman, since her mother was the first, but she and her husband were the only survivors of the deluge sent by Zeus to end the bronze age. Prometheus told Pyrrha about the deluge and saved mankind for the second time.

Pyrrha was the daughter of Pandora and Epimetheus (Prometheus’s brother) – She was married by Deucalion, the son of Prometheus. In the greek myth, it was Deucalion who was announced by his father about the great deluge, but in my version, Prometheus (in his Snake form) is telling that to a young Pyrrha. I illustrated the “Annunciation” in the Jack card.

The Queen of Clubs is “The Queen of Deluge“. Pyrrha is on the Ark, watching the endless rain sent by Zeus. Her hair are longer, and she’s sad for the destiny of the world. She will became the “Mother of the World” years later, in the King card:

Pyrrha grow older, she’s a mature woman now. The Deluge is over and she and Deucalion are the only survivors. They asked the Oracle of Themis how to repopulate the world, and it said to “Throw the bones of the Mother behind the shoulder”. The mother was Gaia, the Earth, and the bones were… rocks.

In the Ace, she’s throwing rocks behind her shoulder.

A little trivia – Pyrrha had 3 daughters from Deucalion. She called one “Pandora II”, like her mother.

Eva, the Lover (Hearts)

I love knowledge, freedom and life. And you, Adam. The price to pay will be high, but I want to bite this fruit.

Eva is the main character – she shares a lot in common with the other women. She is curious like Pandora, rebellious like Lilith and motherly like Pyrrha. I decided to call her “the lover” since I think she did what she did since she was in love – with Adam, with knowledge, but more than anything – with freedom.

Eva is “The first Lover” in her jack form – she was just created by Adam’s rib, and she was scared and unaware. Her purpose, like Lilith, was to be Adam’s wife – this time was different, since between Adam and Eva was love at first sight. Adam learned to be kind, and decided to treat her well.

Eva growth, and she became beautiful and smart – she was happy in Eden “golden cage”, but she was missing something – she wanted the true knowledge. In her queen form, Eva is “The Temptress“. The Snake Prometheus revealed her that all the Knowledge was hidden in the Apple. She persuaded Adam to follow her – they knew the punishment would be devastating, but they decided to eat the Apple of Knowledge anyway.

After they ate the Apple, Adam and Eve were banned by Eden forever, lost their immortality and started to feel hunger and pain. But they finally opened their eyes, and became humans. In her King form, Eva is a mortal. She became the “Queen of the World“, since she was the very first female on the Earth. Despite the original Sin and the pain she suffered, she’s proud to be an aware human.

The relation between Eva and the other first Women

Both Pandora and Eva did something she wasn’t allowed to do and doomed all humanity. Both of them love Knowledge and are curious to know what the Supreme powers wanted keep hidden.

Pyrrha and Eva populated the Earth once. Both are the mothers of humanity. Pyrrha used the “Gaia’s Bones” (rocks) thrown behind her shoulders, Eva physically gave birth to the first men.

Eva decided to be on Adam’s side, but I think she shares the same rebellious nature as Lilith.

Prometheus, the Snake

The Snake, Prometheus, represents the “voice of freedom and rebellion” of the first women and humanity. He inspired Eva to eat the Apple of Knowledge, as well as convince Pandora to open her Box. He told Pyrrha about the great deluge and he embraced Lilith when she flew away from the Eden. He’s both a positive and a negative figure.

One Comment

I can’t say enough good things about the story and symbology used in SINS and Eva.

I’m going to keep petitioning for a combined artbook, storybook, and designer’s diary for the SINS and Eva set that I could keep with my collector’s display boxes of SINS and Eva and their coins. It would be such a great show-piece to go along with them.

Anyway, please keep it in mind that you have at least one customer already for such a book.